Why do I talk here?
Only because you followers of tao
go galloping around in search of the mind,
and are unable to stop it. On the other hand,
the ancients acted in a leisurely way,
appropriate to circumstances
as they arose.
Since the
mind is non-existent,
wherever you are, you
are emancipated.
The sage has no set mind.
She adopts the concerns
of others as her own.
She is good to the good.
She is also good to the bad.
This is real goodness.
She trusts the trustworthy.
She also trusts the untrustworthy.
This is real trust.
The sage takes the minds
of the worldly and spins them around.
People drop their ideas and agendas,
and she guides them like
beloved children.
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If you want to attain Intimacy, the first thing is, don’t seek it. If you attain through seeking, you have already fallen into interpretive understanding.
This is especially true because this great treasury extends through all times, clearly evident, empty and bright. Since time without beginning it has been your own basic root: you depend on its power in all your actions.
You will only pass through to freedom when you cease and desist to the point that not even a single thought is born. Then you penetrate through without falling into sense and matter and without dwelling in conceptualizations and mental images.
When you absolutely transcend these, then the whole world does not hide it. Everywhere everything becomes its Great Function, and every single thing flows forth from your own breast. The ancients called this bringing out the family treasure. Once this is attained, it is attained forever. How could it ever be used up?
Just be wary that your investigation does not rest on a firm footing, and that you will not be able to penetrate through to realization. You must bravely cut off all entanglements, so there is not the slightest dependence or reliance. Relinquish your body and give up your life and directly accept the suchness that faces you; there is no other.
Then even if the thousand sages came forth it wouldn’t change you at all. Leaving it to the flow at all times, eating food and wearing clothes, you nurture the embryo of sagehood to maturity, not keeping to intellectual understanding. Isn’t this an especially excellent teaching and a most essential shortcut?
the highest good is like water
The great Tao
floods and flows in every direction.
Everything in existence depends on it, and it doesn’t deny them.
It accomplishes its work without naming or making claims for itself.
Everything in existence is clothed and nourished by it,
but it doesn’t strain over anything.
Aimless, ambitionless, it might
be called “small.”
Everything in
existence returns to it,
and still it doesn’t lord over anything.
Thus it might also be called
“great.”
Because it has no desire to
be great, it can achieve
greatness.
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In ancient times, people lived holistic lives. They didn’t overemphasize the intellect, but integrated mind, body, and spirit in all things. This allowed them to become masters of knowledge rather than victims of concepts.
If a new invention appeared, they looked for the troubles it might cause as well as the shortcuts it offered. They valued old ways that had been proven effective, and they valued new ways if they could be proven effective.
If you want to stop being confused, then emulate these ancient folk: join your body, mind, and spirit in all you do. Choose food, clothing, and shelter that accords with nature. Rely on your own body for transportation. Allow your work and your recreation to be one and the same. Do exercise that develops your whole being and not just your body. Listen to music that bridges the three spheres of your being. Choose leaders for their virtue rather than their wealth or power. Serve others and cultivate yourself simultaneously.
Understand that true growth comes from meeting and solving the problems of life in a way that is harmonizing to yourself and to others. If you can follow these simple old ways, you will be continually renewed.
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